Course Code: SCIE 216
Academic Year: 2024-2025
Origins of Life is a course about the evolution of the biology of Earth, starting at the beginnings of the planet itself, and looking at the progress of the life that has come and gone through time, up to the present day. Ultimately it is a story about us, but we are just the end of a long line that has included bizarre sea creatures, strange fish, fascinating dinosaurs, and enormous mammals, all on an ever-changing planet. This course looks at the evolution of early Earth and examines the theories of how life came to be, and then traces its ongoing evolution. It also examines the phenomenon of extinction that can remove life, sometimes in an instant. The formation of fossils, and how we interpret them, is also featured. A fossil hunt in the Toronto area is included in the course for practical application. A trip to the Royal Ontario Museum to explore their fossil collection is also planned.